Why so much hype?

Brilliant and touching

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

"Stander" is the true story of Andre Stander, who was a police captain turned notorious bank robber in South Africa. The story goes that he participated in killing during a riot and in the line of duty and became disillusioned. In real life, he wasn't present during that riot. Some people think he simply became bored with what he was doing.Stander(Thomas Jane) decided to rob banks, sometimes during his lunch hour, and he was pretty good at it - so good that he could return to the bank later as the investigating officer. Eventually, his own comrades on the force caught him and he went to prison. There he met Allan Heyl (David O'Hara) and Lee McCall (Dexter Fletcher). After they escaped, they worked together in the robberies and became the most wanted men in the country.What was so good about this film is that it displayed the incredible audacity of these men and especially Stander - the prison breakout, the robberies, stealing cars - remarkable and in plain sight. The acting is superb. Thomas Jane is an American and I have to agree to comments about the accent - it was excellent. He portrayed a good-looking, disillusioned young man with a gorgeous wife who was looking for a different kind of high. He enjoyed going against the system, and one could tell that from the performance. The other actors were excellent as well.Allan Heyl, by the way, was paroled in 2005.A very exciting and absorbing film, sometimes outrageous, sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, and sometimes sad.

How many times do people have their hearts broken during the movie: Stander? 1. The viewer's heart should break during the opening credits, which shows the visual contrast between the wealthy, white Afrikaner's neighborhoods and the poor, black African's slums. South Africa's apartheid system during the seventies is the heartbreaking context in which the story takes place.2. In the opening scene, Andre, the main character, and his wife are shown re-marrying one another. Their hearts have already been broken before the real story even begins; they are now trying to put the pieces of their broken relationship back together.3. Andre's heart is broken when, during the confusion of a riot, he shoots and kills a young, unarmed black man (this is the one, big heartbreak from which all other heartbreaks, from this point in the film on, will originate).4. Andre breaks the heart of his best friend (a fellow cop) who, because Andre is robbing banks, is finally forced to arrest him (the friend also gets his heart broken when Andre refuses to heed the warning he gives him (i.e., that he is on to him) to stop).5. Andre's father's heart is broken when he hears, on the news, that his son has been arrested for bank robbery.6. Andre's wife's heart is broken when she hears, on the news, that he's been arrested for bank robbery.7. Andre's heart is broken when his wife, after having pleaded with him not to put his job over their relationship, again, rejects him and his plan for the two of them to run away together. His heart is also broken by the fact that his wife doesn't understand the heartbreak he feels for the blacks, especially the young man he killed, and the apartheid system he has been a part of.8. Andre's heart is broken again when he (later) sees his wife making love with another man.9. Andre, the father of the young man that Andre killed, and all of the spectators, have their hearts broken when Andre seeks out the young man's father to apologize to him for killing his son and submits himself to the father's punishment (i.e., a good beating).10. Andre's heart is broken when he sees his friend, surrounded by the police, commit suicide by cop (going down in a hail of police bullets).11. Allen, now the only surviving member of the Stander Gang besides Andre, relates to Andre a profound heartbreak he experienced in the past, occasioned by South Africa's apartheid system, the rejection of which led him into his life of crime: the police had beaten a woman he loved, a black woman, and had cause the death of her child (she was pregnant, although not with Allen's child).12. As Andre and his friend Allen say their goodbyes, as each of them will now go their separate ways. Both of their hearts are broken by the end of their friendship.13. Andre travels to the United States and arrives in Fort Lauderdale during Spring Break. A young woman approaches him, thinking he is a celebrity, and, for a moment, Andre appears to believe that he could fall in love again; perhaps even with this woman. She soon runs off to join the drinking festivities and Andre realizes how stupid it was for him to think he could ever fall in love and be happy again. You can see the heartbreak on his face.14. Andre calls his father, pretending to be a black man who once worked for his father, and says his goodbyes to him. Heartbreaking. For both of them.15. Andre then steals a car, runs a red light (on purpose), and leads two nearby police officers on a high speed chase (he is told, by the cops), that he had been going over 100 mph). When stopped, he wrestles a gun away from one of the cops and, with intention of using it (his intention being suicide by cop), points the gun at one of the officers. The other officer fires, twice, dropping Andre to the pavement, where he soon dies. His heartbreak finally over. This is the last scene.16. As the credits roll, we are told the tragic, heartbreaking fates of two of the main characters: Andre's wife later commits suicide, and Andre's friend Allen is caught and sentenced to thirty-two years in prison. (Remember, this film is based on a true story.) 17. The viewer's heart breaks again, at the end of this movie, because we know, now, how wrong South Africa's apartheid system was. It's over now. And it was this system of oppression which drove both Andre and Allen into their lives of crime in the first place. These were simply men with good consciences who could no longer tolerate being a part of the oppressive system and chose to revolt against it. In other words, in the end, they were proved right. Heartbroken, but right.

All in all an excellent ride! They got the theme, feel and pacing just right. Thomas Jane was wonderful in this role. By far his best work with worthy material. The cinematography was perfect to set the feel of the era. A very nicely done script. You understand the character somewhat even if you do not agree with his actions. The movie never becomes preachy or sanctimonious. You get the impression that thought and feel went into the whole process. If all action movies had this type of follow though and attention o detail I would go to see a lot more of them. I hope this director makes more of them. It would be a great improvement over the standard fare.All in all an excellent ride!

After picking up the movie almost solely for the purpose of watching Tom Jane the actual content and brilliance of the story was shocking. Even after I realized it wasn't my normal kind of movie I was compelled to watch, completely caught up in the lives and fates of the characters. Even more compelling due to the fact that it tells a true story there's a sense of real involvement with the people and their story. For people born after the 70's and far away from South Africa this era is something almost make believe but this movie brings it to glorious and heart breaking true life. Great acting, great story, well worth watching.